State Demolishes Couple’s Newly Purchased Home

Two local artists had their dreams bulldozed over by the state of Michigan earlier this week.

Kristine Diven and Micho Detronik, who are involved with Detroit’s District VII gallery space, purchased a home on the city’s east side about a month ago through the Wayne County foreclosure auction. When they stopped by the home Thursday, however, they discovered it had been demolished.

Motor City Muckraker reports the house was one of an estimated 20 homes bought at the auction destroyed by the Michigan Land Bank, a state economic development organization. The blog cites an email from the Michigan Land Bank showing that Wayne County and the landbank are aware of the situation.

“Both MLB and the Treasurer’s office were aware of the potential overlap in advance of the auction, and have been reconciling lists,” it reads. “Many of the addresses were under contract and state permit prior to that second auction.”

Homes like Detronik and Diven’s are not properties that are beyond repair, according to Motor City Muckraker.

Back in October, the Land Bank reached an agreement with the city of Detroit to demolish 12,000 private and city-owned properties, which allows for many of the demolitions to be fast-tracked.

Gov. Rick Snyder appoints members to the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority.

Detronik expressed his dismay about the situation in a Facebook post.

“Sad… we pulled together resources to get this house from the latest Detroit land auctions and had it swept out from underneath us without a warning,” his post reads. “We are now organizing ourselves to help others that might be facing a similar demise.”